От берегов Шри-Ланки до ирландских холмов: Хождение ирландских племен в поисках Обетованной Земли

Medieval Irish historiography preserved a concept of the origin of the Gaels and their coming to the island of Ireland from some distant foreign lands, which were interpreted in a different way by different scribes. The places of origin of the Irish were considered to be Babylon, Egypt, Scythia and India, whence the Irish travelled the world. This concept correlated with the medieval doctrine of the inhabited world, which was formed on the basis of the doctrines of the Classical Greek (Pliny, Strabo) and early Christian authors (Orosius). Describing the travels of the proto-Irish, the medieval and late early modern Irish scribes were influenced by the representations of the Oriental lands, especially India, by various Classical and early medieval compilations (esp. Etymologiae by Isidore of Seville). The article surveys such views, presenting a digest of various depictions of India in the Irish learned tradition (both vernacular and Latin, medieval and early modern).